MX-5: Series Road Atlanta practice one notes

Miller Leads First MX-5 Cup Practice at Road Atlanta
Braselton, Ga. (April 30, 2009) -- In his series debut, Marc Miller,
of Holland, Mich., led the first practice session for Round One of the
SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup at Road ...

Miller Leads First MX-5 Cup Practice at Road Atlanta

Braselton, Ga. (April 30, 2009) -- In his series debut, Marc Miller,
of Holland, Mich., led the first practice session for Round One of the
SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup at Road Atlanta, part of the
Classic Motorsports Magazine Walter Mitty Challenge. Completing the top
three were Brett Smrz, of Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, and Harrison
Williams, of Houston, Texas.

On a gorgeous day at the 12-turn, 2.54-mile road course just outside of
Atlanta, Miller and Smrz exchanged fast laps for most of the 25-minute
session, with each driver's fastest time coming on his final tour of
the circuit. Driving the No. 28 MOCA/ RaceNowforAutsim/Sparco MX-5,
Miller clocked a fast lap of 1:41.318 (90.250 mph).

After two seasons serving as Team MER's lead engineer, Miller was
ecstatic to top the time sheets in his first foray as an MX-5 Cup driver.

"It's pretty incredible," Miller said. "We don't set
out to win practice, but we try to learn as much as we can. It's a
pleasant surprise to know that we're on pace and we'll have some
good data for the rest of the team to work with. I'm really proud of
the Team MER crew. They worked really hard this winter. I'm honored
to have an opportunity, after years of doing the engineering, to be able
to get behind the wheel. The team's been more than welcoming and
supportive."

Miller's No. 28 MX-5 will carry the Race Now for Autism livery this
season, a program with strong personal significance for Miller, whose son
Evan is autistic.

"Race Now for Autism is a program that my wife and I started last
year," Miller explained. "It's a promotional program that
provides a way for amateur and professional athletes to sign up, and any
competition they compete in, they can raise awareness and funds for local
programs that benefit families that have autistic children. It's
something that's near and dear to my heart, as well as Jeff Mosing,
who's driving a car that I own. Jeff's got the full Race for
Autism livery on his car. He's also a father of a child with autism.
I'm pretty happy that we can both support the cause and hopefully we
can get some more drivers in the paddock to run the decals later in the
year and we can make it a big team effort."

Smrz, who returns to the cockpit of an MX-5 Cup car for the first time
since Round Two at Mosport International Raceway in 2008, ended the
session in second. Smrz clocked a 1:41.916 (89.721 mph) in the No. 6
SmrzRacing/InTouchPhysicalTherapy MX-5.

Now in his fourth season of MX-5 Cup, Williams completed the top three in
his No. 00 ALARA/Albrecht&Assoc/MorganKeegan MX-5. Williams' top time
was a 1:42.085 (89.572 mph).